As you all know, last Friday morning the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, defying the odds placed by every expert, and spitting in the face of NASA’s 30% likelihood that she would even get off the ground that day.

As one who witnessed the events first-hand, there’s no way you could have written a better script for this historic launch – the swan song of the Space Shuttle program.

I arrived in Orlando on Wednesday, July 6, knowing that the areas in and around Kennedy Space Center had been plagued all week by clouds, rain and thunderstorms – all of which spell death for any Space Shuttle launch.

What fascinated me more than anything else was the attitude of every Floridian I talked to. You could just sense the doubt in their voices and I couldn’t blame them either. For 30 years, they’ve witnessed Shuttle launches, and experienced the constant delays that became part of the Shuttle’s M.O.

Sure, I heard the token responses of hope like, “well, you never know”, or “hey, I’ve seen it go up when there’s only been a 10% chance.” Deep down, though, everyone including me knew it wouldn’t happen on Friday.

The next day, Thursday, was the first time all 150 NASA Tweetup tweeps met together. It was a day full of incredible speakers and VIP tours, but we still weren’t hearing what we wanted to hear.

With every NASA astronaut, engineer or administrator that talked to us, the general attitude was the same – we’re glad you’re here, what you’re doing is fantastic, but good luck seeing a Shuttle launch tomorrow.

Then, the storm came.

I’ve seen some pretty incredible storms before, but the one we experienced on Thursday ranks near the top. Thunderous rain forced speakers to basically yell into the microphone, leaks popped up at various spots throughout the Tweetup tent, lightning strikes forced NASA to prohibit anyone near the press area from walking outside and NASA TV had to shut down the broadcast from our tent because of safety concerns.

At that time, if anyone would have said, “Don’t worry, in less than 24 hours Atlantis will launch,” I would have bet my life savings against it. Good thing I didn’t.

Upon leaving Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, it was clear that, at best, we were looking at a Sunday launch. In fact, the NASA communications team repeatedly suggested that we look at our email for updates prior to making the trek to the Space Center on Friday. No email ever came.  Game on!

At 3 a.m. Eastern on Friday, my carpool buddy, Jess and I met to take the drive out to Kennedy Space Center. There, we would hook up with the rest of the NASA Tweetup participants. It was completely dark outside, and off in the distance sat Atlantis on the launch pad, basking in the light of massive spotlights.  By that point, NASA had already decided to move ahead with all launch preparations, a significant milestone, and the first of several unlikely milestones that would be achieved that morning.

The milestone that hit me the most was when the astronauts were shuttled down to the launch pad approximately three hours before launch. I thought to myself, “There’s no way NASA would go to this extreme if they weren’t serious about launching.” It was at that moment that I realized this thing might actually happen.

It’s hard to describe the feeling in the press area that day. In just a matter of hours, everyone’s attitude literally changed from frustration and let-down, to extreme excitement and anticipation. That’s a significant swing in such a short time, but it’s one that was incredible to witness.

Around 11:15 a.m. Eastern, the sun was shining and area surrounding the historic countdown clock was filled with thousands of spectators including reporters, anchors, producers, photographers, dignitaries, tweeters, and NASA employees. Most people were laughing and smiling…others were clearly nervous, pacing back and forth…a small minority were already getting emotional. Honestly, it was surreal.

As the final minute started counting down, I reflected on my fortunate situation. How lucky I was to even be a part of this experience – to be a part of history.

Then, at T-minus 31 seconds, it all came to a screeching halt.

Nobody around me knew exactly what was going on. We just knew there was a delay and NASA had a tiny window in which to fix it. My group didn’t have a direct view of the countdown clock, so, in all of the confusion, we didn’t realize it started back up. All we heard was the familiar phrase, “Go for main engine start.”

That’s all we needed to hear. A cheer went up from the crowd. It was time!

Instantly, everyone’s heads shifted to the launch pad, and before you knew it, we could see the signature puffs of smoke as the solid rocket boosters ignited.

We all watched Atlantis silently lift off the pad in a way that I can only describe as peaceful, graceful and elegant. You see, the sound hadn’t reached us yet. When it did, it was unbelievable. The shockwaves and the thundering sound were incredible…I didn’t want it to end.

Then, we all watched in awe as Atlantis disappeared into the clouds and that was it. She was gone.

Looking back, the decision to participate in the NASA Tweetup was a no-brainer. It’s an experience I’ll never forget, and I’m thrilled that I got to witness history. Unfortunately, I also share in the disappointment of many NASA employees and space fanatics when I say I wish there was something to replace the Space Shuttle program.

I’ll always have my memories and descriptions of this launch, but when you really think about it, those memories and descriptions can only go so far. I hope that one day my kids and everyone else for that matter, will have the chance to see a grander, more spectacular and louder launch than I got to see in July, 2011.

Many thanks to NASA for the opportunity to witness this incredible event, and many thanks to Clark Planetarium for letting me write about it. It’s been the ride of a lifetime for me and hopefully you got some enjoyment out of it as well.

Capt. Rominger will discuss his experience at the Navy “Top Gun” pilot’s school and his voyage into space for an International Space Station mission. Following his presentation, audience members will experience a special screening of Hubble 3D in the ATK IMAX Theatre.

Tickets for this public event are $2 and are available online.

On Tuesday, April 13, 2010, Senator Garn will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his historic space flight aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Jake’s presentation will begin in Clark Planetarium ATK IMAX Theatre at 7 p.m. and will be followed immediately afterward by Hubble 3D.

“Jake Garn is a tireless and tremendously effective advocate for space science education. Jake has been an invaluable member of our Board of Directors since we opened seven years ago, and his perspective on the U.S. space program and its role in our society are both thought-provoking and definitely worth paying attention to,” says Seth Jarvis, Clark Planetarium’s director.

A Utah resident, Garn served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot and is a retired Brigadier General in the Utah Air National Guard. He has logged over 12,000 hours of flight time in a wide variety of jet aircraft.  In November of 1984, Senator Garn was invited by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to fly as a payload specialist on flight 51-D of the space shuttle Discovery.  During the seven-day mission he performed a variety of medical tests for NASA.  Discovery Flight 51-D landed at Cape Canaveral on April 19, 1985 after orbiting the earth 109 times.  In December of 1992, Senator Garn was the recipient of the National Aeronautics Association prestigious Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.

Hubble 3D is the newest IMAX documentary and explores both the significance of the Hubble Space Telescope to astronomer’s understanding of the universe and the extraordinary work performed by shuttle astronauts to maintain and improve the orbiting telescope, regarded by most scientists as the most productive research instrument in the history of science. Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, the film is a production of IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures and was created in cooperation with NASA.

The event will take place from 7 – 9 p.m. and tickets are available at the window for $8 each or $9 on the planetarium’s website.

Clark Planetarium’s mission is to create and present stimulating educational programs that effectively share astronomy and space exploration information with Salt Lake County residents, Utah Students, educators and families, and visitors from around the country and the world.

Why are astronauts aboard the International Space Station weightless while they are still so close to the Earth?

Great question!

The strength of Earth’s gravitational field as felt by astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle is almost exactly the same as the gravity we feel here on the ground.  So why are the astronauts weightless?

The answer goes back to Sir Isaac Newton in 1687 and a “thought experiment” he performed using just his imagination and his newly-formed Theory of Gravitation.

Isaac Newton - 1689

Newton imagined what would happen if you had a cannon located on a mountain top and aimed at the horizon.

If you fire a cannon parallel to the ground the ball moves horizontally away from the cannon due to its energy from the gunpowder.  At the same time the cannon ball also begins to accelerate vertically toward the ground because of gravity.

The higher the speed of the cannon ball, the farther it travels before it hits the ground.

If you fire the cannon ball fast enough, the ball travels so far from you that the curvature of the Earth begins to curve the ground away from the falling cannon ball.

If you fire the cannon ball at just the right speed – about 17,500 mph, the cannon ball never hits the ground because the speed of the cannon ball’s fall towards the ground is exactly cancelled by the speed of the ground curving away out from under the falling cannon ball.

Newton realized that in the vacuum of space no force would act to slow the cannon ball down, and so a cannon ball that once achieved enough velocity to put it into orbit would remain in orbit indefinitely.  It would be in perpetual free-fall around the Earth.

So even though you are “weightless,” in orbit around Earth, you’re still experiencing almost exactly the same gravity you are right now as you read this.  The difference is that as you’re orbiting the planet at roughly five miles per second, the ground curves away beneath you at exactly the same speed that you’re falling toward the ground.

Retired astronaut Duane "Digger" Carey takes a moment for photos after his lecture at Clark Planetarium.

“Digger” (that’s what he prefers folks to call him) is not your typical astronaut. He grew up in a single-parent home and struggled with his math and science classes as a child. In fact, he admits he slept through some of them.

After finishing high school he bought a used motorcycle, scrounged some camping gear and set off on a cross country odyssey in search of adventure. After running out of travel funds (He noted wryly that, “Eighteen year-olds are known for their planning skills,”) he resorted to hitching rides, hopping freight trains and later worked as a bartender and a typewriter repairman.

After speaking with a retired pilot about the joys of flying Digger concluded that being a jet pilot was what he wanted to do with his life.

He went to college, earned his bachelors degree, joined the Air Force, went through Officer’s Training and earned a masters degree in Aerospace Engineering,  flew combat missions during Desert Storm, became an Air Force Test Pilot, joined NASA, and flew the Columbia Space Shuttle.  Now he’s retired and spends his time traveling by motorcycle around the country working tirelessly to get kids excited about science and math, space exploration, and above all, recognizing their own capacity to do great things.  Wow.

Digger’s stories moved the audience at the planetarium that night to laughter, introspection and above all, heartfelt applause. He came here to share an inspiring story, that’s exactly what he did.

To echo the lessons from Lt. Carey that night, it’s important to stay in school and pay attention to the hard classes (math and science).  Challenge yourself to accomplish something you thought were to hard for you. Great things await those who do.

Most of the time I’ll delve into the tech side of the planetarium, but I decided to take a different track this time. It’s long past due to acknowledge those that make a difference. Being that I know the effect a select few have made in my life I’d like to relate a little about persons who took time from their schedule to instill in me a sense of it can be done, a sense of logic and a sense of wonder for it all.

My fascination with the universe, I would say, was somewhat nascent till about 4^th grade when a teacher at my elementary started a chapter of the Young Astronauts Club. My parents had always encouraged my exploration, but the Young Astronauts was really the launching point for a love affair with the space program and what mankind can do. Students in the program were excited to learn new things about space, even though it wasn’t anything you got credit for in school. Activities provided by the program got me into rocketry, observing and experimenting. You don’t see much of the clubs anymore, which I think is a horrible loss.

Fifth grade brought into my life a teacher that I still respect and admire to this day. Mrs. Hacken took the time to build activities that didn’t revolve around a video or a dry lecture. It seemed like every subject had some hands-on and experience oriented lesson plan. This was the first time I went to the Hansen Planetarium as well. I begged my parents to haul me up there again. Back in the classroom we tried to successfully land our “egg-astronauts” without killing them with the sudden stop associated with a fall from the top of the school building. I’ve found it rare to have a teacher that invested in the learning of their students, and I was lucky enough to have a similar teacher in 6th grade as well. Mrs. Hacken also introduced me to the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove, Utah. To this day I still hold that there is no better way to teach than mixing sound educational material with entertainment. It causes the student to become excited enough about a subject that they will seek out more information on their own.

The Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center and the staff their launched my interests past a fascination to a want to be involved. I volunteered there for a great many years before leaving to go onto college. During my time there I got to be the instructor for students coming in and learned part of why the teachers who educated me had been so passionate about it. The moment when it clicks, when the light comes on and a student takes off on their own is a reward in and of itself. This is also where I picked up 3D graphics and programming. The recommendation letter from the director at the space center, I believe, is part of what got me in the door at the planetarium.

After finally setting foot in the Clark Planetarium, I started as a show presenter. But I really wanted to get my foot in the door of the production department so I could use some of the 3D skills I’d picked up which working for the C.M.S.E.C. Mike Murray and Aaron McEuen let me, sometimes through trial and error, get started into adding things into the playlist for the theater. And that pretty much brings us to where I am today.

There’s a lot more detail to be added, obviously. I thought the important part though, is to acknowledge the people who often go thankless for the time they spent educating and encouraging a child, a teenager and an adult.

Kids, tell your parents thank you for spending the 50 minutes of drive time to take you to the planetarium. Tell your teachers thank you for making science come alive. Because they all make a difference.

From the basement…